For The Den
by wibblywobblywesteros
Summary: After Dany arrives in Westeros she sends Arya Stark to marry Jaime Lannister. Forced marriage.
1. Chapter 1

They brought her to him wrapped in a bloody cloak. She was limp, unconscious, and was dropped at his feet by the Queen's men like a rag doll.

"We've brought your bride, KIngslayer!" Said one of the unsullied. "Her Grace has commanded that she be confined to Casterly Rock along with you."

With that, they were gone, leaving Jaime standing stunned in the courtyard. He had known that the Queen was arranging a marriage for him. It had been part of the agreement that Tyrion had arranged to prevent his execution. He tried to call after the Queen's men, to ask them who this woman was and why she had been treated thus but they ignored him as if he hadn't spoken a word. He knelt down and opened the bloody cloak, not knowing who to expect to find inside. She had dark hair that was wet with blood. Her clothes were tattered as was her skin, evidence of a flogging but she was breathing, alive.

Jaime sent a nearby servant after the maester and then he carried the petite young woman himself off to her room where her injuries would be treated. It wasn't long before the maester informed him that not only had she been flogged, she had a shoulder wrenched out of place and a broken kneecap. In spite of all that, the maester believed she would live given enough time and rest.

No one knew who she was. Jaime was more than a little angry that his wife had been delivered to him in this condition and they couldn't even have the decency to tell him her name. He checked on her continuously, hourly probably, just to see if she was awake but she never was.

On the third day after her arrival a chest of her things were delivered. Once again, the queen's men claimed to know nothing about it's contents or even who she was, only that these things belonged to the new Lady Lannister. He didn't bother pointing out that she wasn't the lady Lannister yet. He didn't want to invade her privacy by going through her things, but he he needed to know who she was so he opened the chest looking for clues. In the top of the chest he found a sword, a thin Braavosi style blade. Underneath that were clothes, peasant style simple dresses that laced up the front, boys clothes as well that looked they would fit her small frame, boots, undergarments, and then the only clue that the chest contained. It was a book, A History of House Stark. Why she have this book...unless…? Jaime went straight back to her room to look at her again. He gently lifted one eyelid and found that her eyes were the telltale Stark gray. He knew it was her, Arya Stark.

Ayra didn't wake up for another day. Some of his men found Jaime in the stables when she did finally awaken and he made his way back to her room to speak with her for the first time. He wasn't looking forward to it but it had to be done. He could hear a commotion from her room before he ever reached it. Screaming, kicking, footsteps, cries of "Hold her down!" and "Calm down m'lady!" He reached the doorway and found that four of his men had their hands on her. Her hands were tied and they were working on her feet. One of his men had a black eye, another had a bleeding bite mark on his neck and though he could see pain in her eyes from all her struggling, she wasn't giving up trying to get away from them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jaime said angrily from the doorway.

Everyone stopped moving and the room went silent, even Arya.

"She was trying to leave, m'lord. She was trying to escape." One of his men explained.

"That's to be expected. I doubt she wants to be at Casterly Rock any more than I do. Now untie her and get out." Jaime told them.

"But m'lord she-" The one with the bite mark began to protest. Jaime cut him off.

"She is the future lady of Casterly Rock and you will treat her as such! Is that understood?" Jaime said firmly.

"Yes m'lord." They quickly unbound her and fled the room.

Jaime closed the door behind them to keep her in. Arya stayed sitting up on the bed and eyed him warily.

"What do you want?" She finally said to him.

"Answers. What happened to you? You arrived very badly injured." He said.

"Why should I tell you anything?" She said defiantly.

"Because I asked nicely." He replied but his tone was irritated.

"If you think asking nicely is going to make up for this…" She began but didn't finish the thought.

"Make up for what? I didn't have you flogged. I didn't ask for any arranged marriage either. Just tell me how you were injured and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day." He said.

"Fine. I injured my shoulder and knee trying to stop an execution. The queen had me flogged for interfering." She said.

"That's it? Whose execution?"

"I told you how I was injured. That's all I'm saying for now." "She said, ever defiant.

"I'm not leaving until I get more details."

"If you want to sit there all day, suit yourself." She said, reaching for a book on the bedside stand and doing her best to ignore him.

"I can stand here for days if you like." He said with a grin.

She sighed, then cringed at the pain the movement caused in her shoulder. "It was my husband she executed, Gendry Waters. He was Robert Baratheon's bastard." She said, staring at the wall behind him and refusing to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Jaime said. It made sense that the new queen didn't want any Baratheon family members left alive to challenge her rule but it didn't make it any less cruel.

"Why are you sorry?" Arya was angry.

"You're right, I'm not. I was just being polite. If you'd rather I be rude I'll gladly comply." He said.

"I'd rather you just leave." She said.

"Done." Jaime turned to leave the room and left her there.

Jaime left her alone for the rest of the day as promised but the next morning he went up to her chambers at breakfast time. He didn't plan on speaking to her. He doubted it would help anything if he did but he knew that the maester would be checking on her then and he wanted to know how well she was healing thus far.

"How is she?" Jaime asked in the hallway as Maester Gavin left Arya's room.

"Her wounds are healing well. I suspect that her knee might not ever be quite the same as it was. She will likely always walk with a limp but she will walk. However there has been another development. I suspected on her arrival here that she might be with child. I didn't want to say anything until I had the chance to speak with her. She confirmed my suspicions. She has missed one moons bloods." Gavin said.

"Seven hells...does anyone else know about this?" He asked the master.

"No, no one."

"See to it that it stays that way. I need to speak to her." Jaime went to her door and knocked.

"Go away!" Arya shouted from the other side.

Jaime ignored her and went into the room anyway.

"Oh, it's you again." Arya sighed. "I thought it was Gavin with more of his salves. That fucking stuff stings like a bugger."

Jaime almost laughed. He wasn't used to hearing such language from a woman. But he knew he shouldn't be surprised at it. Arya wasn't an ordinary woman.

"Gavin says you're with child." Jaime said, coming straight to the point.

"So? What of it?" She said.

"Does the queen know?" He asked her.

"Why would I have told her? I'm not stupid."

"Then you know that if you want to keep your child, we'll need to marry right away." Jaime said.

Her face paled at his words, then she nodded. "You'd say the child was yours?"

"I will, but only if you'll agree to try to get along with me after this."

She seemed conflicted about that. "What exactly does that mean? Am I supposed to let you fuck me whenever you want to or just be polite or wear fancy dresses or what?"

"It only means that you'll stop trying to run away and stop fighting with my men and and at least make an attempt at being civil with me." He said. It was the best he could hope for.

"What if she doesn't believe the lie? The baby will come a month early. What if she knows that it's Gendry's child?" Arya said worriedly. "I would be better off running away."

"No you wouldn't because if you run away you'll be alone and if you stay here you'll have all of Casterly Rock to protect you and your child."

"Even if you would do that, and I don't see any reason why you would, Casterly Rock can't stand against her dragons." Arya protested.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Casterly Rock has deep caverns that no dragon could ever reach. We'd have a chance here and I'd rather go down fighting than running away. I think you would too."

She thought for a moment. "I would."

"Good, then you won't object to the wedding taking place tonight?" Jaime asked her. He was in no hurry to marry her. He truly wasn't. Yet he knew that it had to take place quickly if he didn't want to watch a child be executed by the new queen.

"If you're just looking for an excuse to fuck me…" Arya said angry but there was fear in her eyes.

"No. You're still injured. I'll not touch you."

She didn't look like she believed him but nodded anyway. "Alright. Tonight then."

The entire household went into a flurry to prepare a wedding for that evening. Jaime really wasn't thrilled about it but he knew it had to be done. He had to do what he could for Arya, for the sake of the oath he made to her mother and allowing the queen to suspect there were any Baratheon children alive would do nothing to help Arya. By the time evening came a suitable dress had been found for Arya and a small feast laid out. The ceremony was short, as was the feast because Arya was in no condition to be on her feet for dancing or any of the normal peasantries. They retired to Jaime's chambers in the end. No one would believe the pregnancy story if they didn't at least spend the night together.

Jaime locked the door to the bedchamber and turned and found Arya standing next to the bed, a dagger in her hand, knuckles white from her tight grip.

"Put the knife down Arya. I'm not going to hurt you." Jaime said calmly, almost annoyed.

For half a minute she didn't move. Then she slowly lowered her arm and the blade clattered to the floor. He took a step closer to the bed but she seemed to believe he was coming towards her and she took a step backwards. He stopped.

"I'm just going to get into the bed, alright?" Jaime told her.

She stepped aside and allowed him to get into bed, still wearing his clothes. Arya stood at the bedside watching him for several minutes, leaning mostly on her good leg, making no move to come to bed.

"You're in no condition to stand there all night." Jaime told her. "Just lie down and rest. If I wanted to harm you I would have by now."

She hesitated and then moved to the bed, lying down while still wearing her clothes. She was still in pain. He could hear it in her breathing. She managed to settle herself and close her eyes as if to sleep. Jaime didn't fall asleep for a long time. He could tell by her breathing that Arya wasn't asleep either.

"Are you afraid of me, Arya?" Jaime spoke into the darkness.

"Of course not!" She said.

He didn't believe her but he dropped the subject anyway. "Where were you all this time? No one has seen you since before your father died."

"Why do care? It's not as if we're going to be friends. I'm still a Stark and you're still a Lannister." She said accusingly.

"I'm just trying to pass the time. This is far more boring than I had expected of my wedding night. If you'd rather not talk, I'm sure we can find something more entertaining to do."

"I was lots of places these past few years." She said, answering his original question. "I ran away from Kings Landing disguised as a boy. I went north with a group bound for the wall. Gendry was one of the boys in the group. I got captured a few times, ended up in Harrenhal and was taken by the Hound and he got wounded so I left him and went to Braavos to train with the faceless men. I was there for three years before I decided to come back and try to find Sansa. While I was looking for Sansa I found Gendry again...and we got married, and the Queen came with her dragons. She offered a reward for any relatives of the usurper. Someone sold him out for the gold. I tried to stop it and ended up here."

"You married lower than your station. I take it you married for love." He commented.

"Yes, I married for love!" Arya was angry. "Unlike the second time."

"I'm not concerned about that." Jaime told her almost cheerfully. "I'm sure you'll decide to love me later on. Any woman would."

"Ew, I'll never do that."

"Suit yourself." He said, resuming the silence.

"Is there any wine in this room?" Arya asked a short time later.

"There can be." Jaime got up and spoke to a servant outside the door. Jaime lit a candle while they waited. The wine was brought to them right away. Jaime set a glass on the small table in the corner of the room, passes the cup to Arya and then poured another for himself.

"What happened to your hand?" She asked him after gulping down the glass of wine. She passed the cup back to him and he poured her another.

"It got chopped off." He said with shrug. "But the golden one is better, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think so." She said quite honestly. "Can you still fight with your left hand?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I had to learn to use a sword with both hands during my training. It's not as easy with my off hand but it can be done." She said, gulping down more wine.

Jaime said nothing to this. He had never quite mastered swordsmanship with his left hand. It irritated him that Arya could use both hands, that is if she were telling the truth about it.

"I saw your sword when your things arrived." He told her. "I wouldn't have opened them but I was still trying to find out who you were since the queen's men couldn't be bothered to tell me. It's a fine little blade."

"Do I get to have it back?" She asked him.

"If you promise not to hurt anyone with it, yes."

"I only hurt people who try to hurt me first." Arya said matter of factly.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem. No one is going to hurt you here."

"Not even you?" She asked it as if she thought he was a liar.

"Not even me." He replied.

"Could I have more wine?" She asked holding out her cup. He poured her a third glass and a third glass for himself.

The next thing Jaime could remember was waking to Arya's voice the next morning.

"Gods… how much wine did we drink?" She was saying.

He realized he was under the covers and he was naked, so was she. It started coming back to him little by little. They'd had more wine. He remembered stumbling back into bed and how she had laughed at his inability to walk. Then she had blown the candle out at her bedside and admitted that she didn't like the dark, it made her feel lonely. He had moved closer to her so she wouldn't be lonely...

"Too much." He finally said.

"Did we…?" She asked.

"We did. You don't remember? You said you didn't like the dark."

"Seven hells…" She clamped her hand over her mouth. Then she immediately turned and puked over the side of the bed. "Too much wine." She mumbled as she sat up and wiped her mouth.

"I hope so…" Jaime said.

"What do you mean, you hope so?" Arya said, her hand on her now throbbing temple.

"Well if the memory of last night is making you vomit then we have more problems than I'd expected."

"Oh." She said, meeting his eyes with flushed cheeks. "It wasn't that. It was just the wine."

"Good. I'm going down to breakfast. I'll send some maids in to help you, and to bring breakfast up. You should stay off your feet." He said, throwing his clothes on and getting up to leave her as quickly as possible.

Jaime hadn't intended to sleep with her that night. He hadn't intended to sleep with her at all. She was too young, too vulnerable, and injured as well. He didn't have any interest in bedding the Stark girl. This marriage was supposed to be for political reasons only. And now all of that was ruined by his memories of the previous night. The feeling of her lips against his, her hands in his hair, his member inside of her...He knew it had only been the wine but she had been so wanton, so greedy for more and he had given it to her. It had been too long since he'd had a woman, and as she'd said, they'd had too much wine. He tried to push the thoughts of it from his mind and couldn't. As soon as breakfast was ended he went straight for the practice yard. He needed the distraction of a sword.

By the time the noon meal came Jaime had started to become worried. Arya was still injured and he had been drunk and could only remember bits and pieces of the previous night. What he remembered was all good things but it was very possible that she remembered it differently. But he stayed away from her room until evening. Jaime made his way back to her chambers right after dinner.. She was in bed with a tray of food in her lap which she had apparently barely touched. She glanced up at him when he entered the room, her face was flush.

"Are you feeling alright?" Jaime asked her. Maybe she had a fever.

"I'm fine." She said and put the tray aside on the bedside table. "I'm sick of being alone in this room."

"You shouldn't be out of bed walking. Yesterday was enough for a while." He told her.

"Who said anything about walking? I said I was sick of being alone." She stated.

"Right. Sorry about that. I should have seen to it that you had some company in here."

She gave him a disgusted look. "So what would you do, order some servant to come in here and keep me entertained?"

"I assumed you didn't have any problem keeping company with people of lower birth." He pointed out remembering that her husband had been baseborn himself. He wasn't really sure what Arya was so upset about.

"I don't." She said and went silent, seemingly dropping the subject.

"Then what's the problem?" He asked.

"Nothing, Just forget it."

"Wait, were you trying to indicate a preference for my company?" Jaime said with half a grin.

"Of course not." She said with an air of indifference but her cheeks were flush again.

"I think you were." He said. "And even if you weren't I've decided that you'll be stuck with me for tomorrow whether you like it or not."

"Next time I'll just keep my mouth shut and be alone." She said annoyed. He said nothing to that and for a moment they lapsed into silence. Jaime moved as if to leave her for the night, then stopped again.

"About last night...I hope I didn't hurt you." He said.

"You didn't." She said and the blush had clearly returned to her cheeks.

"Good. Goodnight Arya." He said and was almost out of the room when she called after him.

"Jaime?"

He turned to look at her and found that she had tears in her eyes. "Yes?"

She swallowed. "Never mind." Whatever she had been about to ask him she had evidently changed her mind. "Good night." She added and with that he left her and went back to his old chambers.

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Arya threw her head back onto the pillow with a frustrated sigh as Jaime left her. She hated herself. Hated the fact that she had been so close to asking Jaime to stay in her bed. What in seven hells was wrong with her? She hadn't wanted to marry him. She had intended to do everything she could to run away or fight him off until he had offered her the protection of Casterly Rock for Gendry's baby. She didn't quite believe he would do that but even if he hadn't meant it, if she could manage to make him like her then he might do it anyway. Manipulation wasn't her strong suit. She much preferred to just fight someone to get what she wanted. All she wanted right now was to keep her unborn child, what little was left of her husband, safe. Her only real chance of doing that was to stay put and try to gain the allegiance of her new husband. She hadn't expected it to be so complicated. For one thing, something about him had her constantly arguing. Even if she knew how to seduce a man, she couldn't have done it with him. Just having him nearby made her want to slap that smug smile off his face. She had never been one of those agreeable courteous ladies like Sansa. She wasn't the type to flirt either. She'd always had an argumentative streak but he somehow made it worse. She had to fight with herself not to fight to fight with him. And to make matters worse, that wine last night had ruined everything. She had never felt anything quite like that, quite as good as that. She was consumed with guilt by the fact that she had enjoyed sex with another man so soon after being widowed. It didn't help matters that the man had been a Lannister either.

Arya turned onto her side and hugged her pillow. Her chest hurt from the ache of loss and she cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

She dreamed of Gendry that night. She dreamt she was watching him at the forge as she had so many times before. She had watched him for weeks really before he had ever kissed her. She was supposed to be looking for Sansa and when she found him again she couldn't leave, she just couldn't. She kept finding excuses to stay at the inn near his smithery and excuses to go and talk to him during the day. And just when she'd finally found a reason to leave, he'd come up with a reason to make her stay. The game had gone on for three months before she stubbornly decided that she had to leave, she had a duty to her sister and she must go find her. She'd marched out of the blacksmith shop determined to never go back. But he had gone after her and caught her around the waist and kissed her and then she never left. Now in her dreams she was back there again, watching him as he forged steel with his hammer, shirtless.

Arya woke with a start to a cold empty bed in her room at Casterly Rock. She reached for Gendry. He wasn't there. She refused to burst into tears again. Refused. She sat up and dragged her wounded body out of bed. It was still the middle of the night. Someone had left her sword Needle on the table in the corner of the room and Arya agonizingly limped over to the table and picked up her sword. Someday she was going to kill that dragon bitch but it wouldn't be with this sword. She would send for one of the swords that Gendry had made first thing in the morning. There should still be some left. Pate the inkeep would send them if she asked. One of Gendry's blades would be the one to kill the Queen.

Arya couldn't go back to sleep. Not after that dream. She put the sword into the ties of her robe and limped to the door of the room. There was no one out in the hallway. Everything seemed quiet. Down at the end of the hall she saw some sort of weapons chest. She made her way slowly there and opened it. One of those spears could work as a walking stick. She lifted several until she found one she liked the feel of and she took it out and used it to lean her weight onto. It helped a lot to have something to lean on as she walked. She went back up the hallway the way she had come, the spear thudding on the floor more than she would have liked. She made it past the door of her own bedchamber and was just passing Jaime's door when it was wrenched open, Jaime stood there with a quizzical look on his face.

"What are you doing, going to battle?" He asked, eyeing the spear and the sword.

She sighed. "I couldn't sleep. I was just going for the walk."

"I seem to remember telling you that walking was a bad idea." Jaime said.

"And when you said it, I seem to remember thinking, fuck off."

"Ah well, I can't read your thoughts. Though I did suspect you wouldn't be inclined to take my advice, even if it was for your own good."

"If you're finished, I'd like to keep walking." She said testily.

"I'd hardly call it walking. Whatever it is I can't let you do it alone." He said pulling the door to his chambers shut as if to follow her. "Lead the way."

Arya really hadn't wanted his company but decided it would be best not to say so. She had to try to get along with him in spite of the confusing mess of feelings his proximity gave her. They didn't speak much after that. Arya found it difficult to speak. The further she went the more pain she was in. Jaime noticed.

"Perhaps we've gone far enough." He suggested.

"I'm fine." She insisted, dragging herself further and deeper into yet another passageway of Casterly Rock. She knew it the moment that she had gone over her limit but by then it was too late. Her vision went blurry, her legs crumpled beneath her, and she heard the spear clatter to the floor.

When she awoke in the morning she was back in her room. Jaime sat in a chair at her bedside. His arm was bandaged up but he was somehow still bleeding through the bandage. She took a quick look around the room and saw that her sword was back on the table where it had been the night before.

"What happened?" She asked him, slightly confused.

"You blacked out. I caught you and carried you back here but not before that sword of yours stabbed me through the arm on your way down." Jaime said.

"All the way through?" She asked, slightly concerned, though she didn't know why she should care.

He nodded. "All the way. Maester Gavin had to remove it from my forearm before he could tend to you. You really ought to get a sheath for that thing."

"I will." She agreed. The lack of a sheath had never troubled her before. "Where's the spear?"

"I expect someone has put it back in the cabinet by now."

"Might I keep it in here next to the bed?" She asked. It irked her to have to ask his permission for things. She could have just as easily told him she going to do it whether he liked it or not but she knew that wasn't the way these things worked.

"And go wandering around the castle in the middle of the night again? I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'm not going anywhere. I just would like it nearby so that I know I could walk if I had to. If there were an emergency…" She tried not to let her voice betray her fear of being helpless but she knew that it probably got through to him anyway.

"Fine. You can have it back here if you promise to rest."

"I promise." She agreed.

"And I believe I promised you the pleasure of my company today. So tell me, do play cyvasse?" He asked her.

She did know how to play cyvasse. She was actually quite good at it but Jaime was good too. By the time of the noon meal they were tied at having won four games each. Two maids brought in their meal for them as Jaime had asked, rather than leave Arya to eat alone.

"I was thinking." Jaime said as the servants cleared away their meal. "That perhaps you'd feel up to going riding?"

"I could do that." Arya said, as if she would merely tolerate it when in reality she would have done anything to escape that horrible room for a little while.

"Good. I'll be back to get you in a little while." He said taking his leave. He sent two maids in as he left who helped her change into more suitable clothes for riding. A short time later Jaime returned. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, but no one has brought back the spear yet." She said a little worriedly.

"You won't need it." With that he went to the bed and picked her up to carry her out to the horses.

She wanted to protest, to scream at him to put her down but the words caught in her throat. Her mind immediately went back to the wedding night. She had tried so hard not to think about it. She didn't want to think about the way he had kissed her neck and sucked on her breasts. She tried not to remember the way way he had felt inside her and now with her head on his shoulder, his arms holding on to her, breathing in his scent, she couldn't think about anything else. By the time he placed her on the horse her thoughts were scattered and she did the best she could to bring her breathing under control.

Jaime mounted his own horse and led the way out of the courtyard. Four household guards followed at a distance.

"Where are we going?" Arya asked when she finally found her voice.

"We can follow the road towards Lannisport or we can go to the beach. Which do you prefer?"

The beach. Arya's thoughts took her to another time and place. She had been on the beach in Braavos at night and had stumbled onto a couple making love. She'd been too young when she had last seen her mother to have been told the basics of what happens between men and women and though she had seen a few incidents in a brothel, those people had all been clothed. On the beach, in the moonlight she could see everything. She had been disgusted with the scene and left quickly but not before she heard the woman make a comment about the beach being romantic. Then later, after she had married Gendry she understood the appeal of the beach as they shared a bath one night.

"Which do you prefer?" Jaime asked her a second time.

Arya felt her face flush with heat, "The road towards Lannisport is fine." She told him.

"Lannisport it is." Jaime said and she thought he seemed amused by her answer.

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Jaime found that the road to Lannisport was quite boring. The only thing interesting about the entire day had been Arya's unexpected reactions to him. She had definitely reacted to the closeness they shared when he carried her to her horse. Having her close hadn't been at all unpleasant for him either. Perhaps it hadn't just been the wine. Then she had been flustered a second time when he mentioned the beach. It didn't take much imagination to figure out why. She wasn't a maiden when he had taken her, he was sure of that, but in some ways she acted as if she'd had very little experience with men. Maybe she hadn't had much.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Jaime said, pulling his horse up alongside hers. His men were far enough back that they couldn't hear the conversation.

"Alright." She agreed almost reluctantly.

"How long were you married for?"

Her face saddened but she gave him an answer all the same. "Only ten days."

"And you were a maid when you married him?" He went on. He knew she wouldn't like the question. He didn't care. It had never bothered him to make people uncomfortable with his words.

"Yes! Why does that matter now?"

"I guess it doesn't. I was only curious." Jaime said.

Only ten days. That explained a lot about her response to him. She was practically still a maiden. And she had married a man close to her own age who likely didn't have a lot of experience with women. Some part of her still disliked him, he knew that and expected it. However she was drawn to him as well. If he were going to keep her from running away he was going to have to use that to his advantage. Somehow.

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They only traveled a few miles from Casterly Rock that day. That was as far as they were officially permitted to go. Not one of Jaime's men would have said a word if they'd gone further but there were commoners who might spread rumors and of course the Queen had spies keeping an eye on them too. Once they were back at the castle, Jaime helped Arya down from her horse and carried her back to her room. He walked more slowly this time as he carried her, giving the guards time to go on ahead of them and leave them alone together. His arm still hurt from when she had fallen earlier but he ignored it. He could feel her racing heartbeat against him. He would have believed it was panic if not for the way her head lay relaxed on his shoulder and the way her free hand rested on his chest. When he reached her room, he bent to set her on the bed and stayed close enough that his lips brushed against her neck and ear as he let her go. It was just a light kiss really and barely even counted as one at all. He felt her intake of breath at the sensation and then he pulled away, leaving it at that.

Her eyes met his and he saw a mixture of confusion and desire there. "What was that for?" She asked. She wasn't angry, it was more like disturbed.

Jaime shrugged. "No reason." He watched her for a moment as she seemed to be struggling with what to say to him. "I'm having dinner in the great hall tonight. I'll have your spear sent up along with your meal if you still want it."

"I do still want it." Arya said, relieved at the change of subject.

"Why not just send for a cane or a walking stick?" He said with a shake of his head. "It seems like it would be more practical. And it would be safer for everyone around you if weren't running around with unnecessary weapons." He said glancing at his arm.

"That's not my fault. I didn't ask you to catch me." Arya protested.

"What was I supposed to do? Let you fall?"

"Maybe. I don't know. If I saw some random Lannister falling I don't know that my first instinct would be to catch them." She said honestly.

"Arya, you're not just some random Stark. Not now." He said referring to the fact that they were now married.

She gazed at him skeptically and it was easy to guess what she was thinking. She doubted that their family history could be overcome so easily. She doubted that their being married would have made any difference at all, especially coming from an oathbreaker like him. But for some reason she kept her thoughts to herself and he found that he was grateful that she did.

"Let me put it this way," Jaime went on. "I've been a knight for too long to not rescue maids who need rescuing." He said.

"Maybe I don't want to be rescued." Arya protested.

"Apparently you don't know what's good for you." He moved towards the door. "I'll see you after dinner." And with that he was gone.

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Arya was fuming by the time Jaime left the room. What did he think he was doing trying to make it seem like she was some helpless maiden who needed rescuing? Did he expect her to thank him for catching her? Was she supposed to look at him like some gallant knight who had injured himself in her defense? The worst that would have happened if he'd let her fall might have been a few new bruises. She'd had lots of bruises in her life. They didn't mean anything. But instead of letting her get a few bruises he injured his stupid arm and would probably have a permanent scar from it. And why would their being married make any difference? Sure, he made vows to love and protect her but the vows hadn't meant anything, not to him. His behaviour didn't make any sense at all.

Her thoughts drifted back to what had set off her anger in the first place, that kiss. Couldn't he have simply set her on the bed without all that? The feeling of his lips ghosting across her neck… his arms had still been around her then...she wasn't ready to feel anything like that. Not so soon. Not yet. It wasn't fair to Gendry. He'd only been gone a few weeks. After the execution the queen had immediately put her on a ship headed for Lannisport. Those few weeks had been agony. Her men were given orders to carry out the flogging as soon as the ship landed so that she could be tended at Casterly Rock. No one tended her knee or shoulder on the ship. She was locked alone in a cabin, in pain, and just wanting to die. Wanting to die after becoming a widow certainly made a lot more sense than getting drunk and fucking another man did. She couldn't have feelings for Jaime Lannister, she just couldn't. It complicated things far too much. This was his fault. He needed to stop doing stupid things like carrying her places and catching her when she fell and kissing her when she wasn't expecting it. He was taking advantage of her bereavement. She decided she would do her best to hate him for that.

The evening meal was brought up along with her spear. A servant leaned it against the wall near her bed. She didn't notice until after they left that there were markings on the wood of the spear near the head. That hadn't been there before. She pulled herself out of bed to take a closer look. There, freshly carved into the wood of the spear was a small direwolf. She didn't know what to think about that.

It was a while after dinner when Jaime came back. She expected that he would simply check on her and say good night as he had done the previous night. Instead he came into the room, at on the edge of the bed and pulled his boots off.

"What are you doing?" She asked. He had better not be planning to sleep with her.

"I can't very well let you go wandering around in the middle of the night again. I'm sleeping in here." He said.

No. She didn't want that. It wasn't that she was afraid of him. It was that she had woken up crying and sobbing so much in recent days and she didn't want him to see that. No one needed to see that. "I'm not going to go wandering anywhere. I've learned my lesson."

"Good, but I'm sleeping here all the same." He said.

"And if I ask you not to…?" She began worriedly. She didn't think that demanding would work with him or she might have tried it.

He met her eyes. "Arya, nothing is going to happen. I'm only planning to go to sleep and there won't be any wine. Maester Gavin says you shouldn't have any wine now anyway."

She sighed. If she fought this further he would believe she was afraid of him. She had been a little afraid of him the first night but she wasn't anymore. And she couldn't tell him the reason she didn't want him to stay. She could only hope she didn't wake up crying. "Fine." She conceded almost against her will.

"It's fine that you shouldn't have any wine or fine that I can sleep in here?" He asked.

"Both. But you can do whatever you want anyway. You're the lord of Casterly Rock." She said, a little angry.

"It's not like that Arya. If you say no, I'll leave." He told her.

"Then I'm saying no." She said, not believing that he'd really meant it.

He nodded, accepting her answer. "Good night then." Jaime picked up his boots and left.

"Wait!" She called after him and he stopped. She hated the prospect of being alone almost as much as she didn't want him to see her cry.

"You can stay."

He turned back around and climbed into bed next to her.

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Jaime suspected that Arya was probably feeling very conflicted about letting him stay. She would have to be. She had just lost her husband and been forced into a marriage with an enemy of her house. Maybe he'd taken it too far in kissing her earlier that day. He wanted to give her reason to stay but he didn't want to take advantage of her. Not really. He wasn't going to be able to protect her if he pushed her so far that she decided to run away. And he did feel protective of her. Arya had arrived at his feet injured and bloody on the orders of Daenarys Targaryen. He knew what her father Aerys had been. It had made him furious that there was another Targaryen who now had the power to hurt people like Aerys had. Tyrion insisted that Daenarys was better than Aerys. That she at least tried to be fair even if she did fail in it sometimes. There was nothing fair about what had been done to Arya. She and her husband could have been banished to Essos, sent to the wall, confined to Winterfell, anything besides executing the man and flogging his wife. It had troubled him for years that he had failed to keep his vow to Catlyn Stark and find her daughters. Sansa had finally turned up, married to Harry the Heir and seemingly happy but no sign of Arya had ever been found. Now that he'd found her, he had a duty to keep her safe for the sake of his vow to Catlyn and for the sake of what he had tried to end when he killed Aerys all those years ago.

Arya didn't sleep very soundly. She tossed and turned a lot in her sleep and kept waking him up. It was the middle of the night and Jaime had been woken by Arya's restless sleep for the tenth time. He was reconsidering sleeping next to her at all and ready to go back to his own room when she woke with a start. She sat bolt upright and gasped for breath.

"Arya?" Jaime asked, concerned.

She leaned over and grabbed the spear at the bedside. "I need to walk."

"Alright, I'm coming with you." He said, he didn't make it optional.

They hadn't gone very far and Jaime could see that it was already becoming painful for her to walk. "Why do you do this to yourself?" He asked, watching her try to manage another step. "There's no reason to be on your feet while you're still injured."

"Because if I'm in pain then I only have to think about the pain." She told him honestly.

"You can't injure yourself just to avoid mourning." He said, though not unkindly. "I've lost people too...it won't work."

"You mean Cersei?" She asked him. Everyone knew that Cersei had been executed nearly three years earlier by the faith of the seven.

"Yes." He admitted.

"Is it true, the rumors that Stannis Baratheon spread? Is that why my father died, because Joffrey was yours?" She asked him.

He sighed. She wouldn't like it but he might as well be honest with her. She probably already believed it was the truth anyway. "It's true."

She wrinkled up her face as if disgusted but said nothing. Then her expression changed to one of pain. She had put too much weight on her injured knee.

"Let's go back." Jaime said. "Even if you hurt yourself now, you'll still miss him once your leg is healed. There's no sense in doing this to yourself."

"I'll always miss him. I've accepted that." She said. "What I can't accept is that I keep seeing those flames…"

"Flames?" Jaime wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"Dragonfire. She had him executed by dragonfire." Arya said, her voice breaking.

"Gods…" He didn't know what to say for a moment. "I saw Aerys burn men alive. I hoped that the Seven Kingdoms would never know such horrors again."

"If that's why you killed him why did you wait so long? Why wait until your father arrived to sack the city?" She said with confusion.

"I was the youngest Kingsguard. My sworn brothers knew what Aerys was and told me that it was my duty to protect him, not to judge him. I believed them. Or at least I tried to until he ordered all of Kings Landing burned by wildfire and for me to bring him my father's head." He told her.

Her eyes widened. "The whole city?"

He nodded. "The whole city."

"Did my father know this?" Arya asked.

"I never told him. I've hardly told anyone."

She sighed. "House Targaryen is fucked up. And you're right, we should go back now."

He followed her back to the bedroom and once she was in bed he went to his own side to try and sleep. Maybe they would both dream of fire after this.


	3. Chapter 3

When Arya woke in the morning Jaime was already gone. Somehow that was worse than if he had stayed. She reached over and found that his side of the bed was warm. He hadn't been gone for long. She kept her hand on the warm side of the bed and finally allowed herself to cry. She managed to dry up her tears before the maids came to help her bathe and dress. Then for some reason the smell of the rose petals in the tub set her off again.

"Are you alright m'lady?" Asked the thin freckled red haired maid. Arya didn't know her name.

"I'm fine."

"You're crying. Is there anything I can do to help?" Red asked.

"I said I'm fine. I'm not crying. Just...just...get out!" Arya yelled at them, both the red haired maid and the blonde one. She didn't need people staring at her like this.

Once they were gone she realized her predicament. She was still in the tub, her spear was across the room, and the floor was wet from where one of the maids had clumsily spilled water while trying to fill the tub. There was no way she was getting out of there safely. She finished washing herself and then clung to the sides of the tub to push herself to her feet. There was nothing nearby to hold on to and steady her as she stepped over the side. She couldn't decide if she should step out with her good leg or her bad leg. Either way she was likely to slip. She wasn't afraid of slipping, or of falling. However she didn't want to fall so hard that blacked out again. Jaime might just come up to check on her after breakfast and she didn't want to be blacked out on the floor naked when he did. She heard a knock at the door. Too late.

"Arya?" He was already opening the door.

"Wait!" She found her voice too late. He was already in the room, the door swung shut behind him. He only stared for about three seconds.

"Where are your maids?" He said as he crossed the room and grabbed a towel. He wrapped it around her without really looking at her as he did so.

"I sent them out." She admitted.

"Why would you do that?" He said as he scooped her out of the tub and carried her over to the bed. "Clearly, you needed help to get out of the tub."

"Because they didn't need to see any of my stupid tears." She said, frustrated.

"You're okay with letting them see you naked but not letting them see you cry?" He said, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

She wondered for a moment if he was really talking about the maids or about himself. She hadn't flinched or even tried to cover herself when he came into the room. She had only stared back at him. She didn't even know why.

"I'd rather not let anyone see me cry." She said.

"Not even me?"

"Especially not you." Arya said. "Maybe you should send them back in her so they can help me dress."

"I could help you dress." He said teasingly.

"No you couldn't." She said, a blush on her cheeks.

Grinning, Jaime got up from the bed. "I'll send them in."

Once he was gone Arya breathed a sigh of relief but some part of her wanted to laugh about the whole thing. He could have turned around and left the room and sent the maids back rather than did what he did. Except that he was her husband and seeing her naked shouldn't be so out of the ordinary. She supposed she couldn't complain. It could have been worse.

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After breakfast Jaime went straight to the practice yard. He couldn't think clearly after what had just happened. Two things were troubling him about the incident. For one, this was the first time he had seen just how bad the flogging she had received really had been. Most of the skin was healed enough that there were no longer open sores but there were still a lot of lines. Many more lines than a few lashes worth. Why had she even been flogged anyway? It was fairly normal to need to hold back family members during executions. He'd never known of any incidents of them being punished for it, unless she had killed someone in the attempt. It seems like she would have been executed too if that had been the case. He couldn't help but wonder what had truly happened. And he couldn't stop thinking about how much he wanted her after seeing her like that. He'd almost gotten the memories of the wedding night out of his mind. Now he needed a sword to rid himself of these thoughts all over again.

After a couple of hours one of the servants interrupted his practice to tell him that Lady Arya wasn't in her room and no one seemed to know where she had gone. He headed back into the castle to see for himself. Sure enough, she wasn't in her room. He had no idea where to start looking. He headed back into his chambers to change out of his sweaty tunic and join the search. His shirt was off and he was reaching for another one when he heard something like a muffled sob. He turned towards the sound and for the first time noticed the human sized lump under the blankets on his bed.

"Arya?" He said approaching the bed. She seemed to be curled up on her side. "Are you alright?"

She didn't answer him so pulled back the blankets so he could talk to her. Her eyes widened at the sight of him shirtless, then she blushed and grabbed the blankets and pulled them back over her head again as if to hide from him. She had obviously been crying. He felt a little bit bad for finding her like this when she hadn't wanted him to see her crying and she clearly wasn't comfortable with his lack of a shirt. But what was she doing in his bed? He went and put on a tunic before trying to speak to her again. He didn't try to pull the blankets back again.

"The servants thought you were missing. They've started searching the castle for you. What are you doing in here?" He said gently.

"Mourning." She said with a sob.

He didn't know what to say. He went to the door to speak to one of the servants and tell them that Arya had been found. Then he went back to her and sat in the bed. He put his hand on her shoulder. She reached out from under the blankets and held his hand, never letting him see her face. He held her hand tightly while she wept for a long while.

Eventually Arya's sobs ended and she went quiet. Jaime wondered if she had cried herself to sleep. He was about to just leave and let her sleep when she spoke to him.

"Thank you." She said.

"It was nothing Arya." He told her then he got up and crossed the room and wet a cloth in the wash basin. He flipped back the blankets and passed her the cloth. She took it and washed her face. "How about I bring you down to the great hall for the noon meal? It would at least be a change of pace."

She nodded. "Sounds good to me."

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It was good to be in a hall filled with people again even if she did have to sit in Lady Lannister's seat. It had been loneliness that had driven her to Jaime's bed in the first place. She had known it was silly and even childish maybe to be lonely after only a couple of hours left to herself but the silence had forced her to face all the thoughts she hadn't wanted to face. She couldn't be alone anymore and she couldn't trust herself to make it all the way to the training yard where Jaime likely had gone to. So she had done the only thing she could. She had gone to his bed and curled up under the blankets, enveloped in his scent. She felt a bit better here in the great hall even if she didn't know most of these people. Arya listened to the gossip around her while Jaime spoke with the Stable Master Evard who was seated nearby.

"...At least the stallion is healing well. Most beasts take lot longer than that to get well after those sorts of injuries." The man was saying. "I hear the Queen's dragon isn't doing nearly so well."

This had Arya's attention.

"What happened to her dragon?" Jaime had apparently not heard this bit of news yet.

"There was this execution some weeks ago. The man's wife didn't want want him killed of course and she somehow broke through the lines and ran straight at the beast, plunged a spear right into it's belly. That didn't kill it so she pulled the spear out and tried again. She got him twice in the belly with a spear before the beast was able to move off of her. It opened it's mouth to breathe fire on her and she speared it in the eye and rolled away. I guess the queen's men got her then and the dragon is still trying to recover." Evard said.

Jaime turned to Arya and looked at her with with wondering amazement. She knew he was wondering if that had been her. She didn't know what to say.

"I can't believe that fucking thing didn't die." She finally said.

At that Evard burst into laughter. "That was you?"

"It explains why she likes spears." Jaime commented.

He was right about that. Arya had always preferred swords before. A sword like needle would have done nothing against a dragon. Nothing. She disliked being without a spear even now. But Jaime was probably right. Dragons couldn't get into Casterly Rock.

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Jaime had never seen a real dragon before but he had seen the dragon skulls in the Red Keep. As he carried Arya back up to her room it was hard not to imagine the sort of horror she must have felt that would have compelled her to take on one of those creatures all by herself. No one in their right mind would do such a thing. Only love or survival could make a person do that he was almost sure. Perhaps he had underestimated the depth of what she had felt for her deceased husband. If being married to the man for only ten days was enough to make her take on a dragon… That had to have been why the queen had her flogged too. Rumor had it that the queen treated her dragons like children. That she called them children. If Arya had hurt one of them then a flogging was probably merciful on the queen's part. He wondered if Arya saw dragons in her nightmares as well as flames. He wouldn't ask her that though.

When Jaime reached her room he simply put her on the bed without kissing her or doing anything else of that sort this time. They played a few games of cyvasse.

"I have to reply to some letters today." Jaime said as their game ended. "I can send Meg and Genna up to keep you company." He offered. The two handmaids were wary of Arya after she had shouted at them earlier but they would get over it soon enough.

"Alright. Will you come back tonight?" She asked him. He wasn't able to tell if she was hoping he would stay away or not.

"Is that an invitation?" He asked.

She reddened just a little. "It was a question about your plans."

"I plan to come back here if you'll have me." He told her frankly.

Arya only nodded in response so he left it at that and went to go deal with his correspondence.


	4. Chapter 4

To Arya's horror, Meg and Genna brought sewing to help keep her occupied that afternoon.

"What's that?" She asked of the folded fabric that blonde Meg had in her hands.

"It's needlework." Genna answered for her. Meg hardly ever spoke at all. She was always very shy around Arya. "We brought so many colors of thread so you can make anything you want m'lady."

"I don't do needlework." Arya told them.

The hand maids looked at each other. "What do you mean?" Genna asked her.

"I mean I don't do needlework. I hate it and I'm terrible at it anyhow." Arya told them honestly and saw immediately that they looked hurt. "Besides, the only reason ladies do needlework is so they can gossip about everyone while they do it. We can still do that without the sewing. Right?"

The girls smiled and pulled out the chairs at the table in the corner of the room and moved to sit near her bed.

Arya didn't want to end up talking about herself so she started off the conversation by asking about them. "So have you always lived at Casterly Rock?"

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Jaime had a pile of correspondence on his desk that needed to be taken care of. His household steward would send most of the replies for him but he still had to open everything and read them all. There were ten sealed parchments besides all the unsealed ones he hadn't taken care of yet. He began opening the papers. They were mostly all from his bannermen and vassals asking for his judgement in local matters. Then he saw one with the Hand's Seal. Tyrion had written to him.

Dear Jaime,

By the time you receive this, Arya Stark will have already arrived. I couldn't safely send this letter by bird or it would have reached you sooner. When it becomes appropriate please give Arya my apologies that I could not do more for her. I do what I can but I can not prevent Her Grace from all of her plans. In this case the only thing I could do for Arya was to convince Her Grace that marriage to you would be more of a punishment than simply executing her. The flogging could not be avoided. Of course I know that Arya will cared for at Casterly Rock. I hope she knows it as well. And I hope you know that I did not intend this to be a punishment for you either. Perhaps in time the two of you can at least be friends.

-Tyrion

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Arya ate dinner in her chambers with Meg and Genna. After spending a few hours with them she decided that were alright for company. Just after dinner Jaime arrived and the maids scurried out of the room.

Jaime sat in one of the chairs to take his boots off. She noticed that he did not take his golden hand off. The chair he sat in was within reach of the bed where Meg had left it. Curiously, Arya reached over and touched the golden hand.

"Does it come off?" She asked and then realized that maybe he didn't like to talk about it.

"It does." He said meeting her eyes. Then he sighed and began undoing the laces on his hand. "See?" He said, passing her the hand.

She took it, but she really wasn't interested in seeing the hand. She reached over and took his right arm and gently pulled back the sleeve. He let her. When it was bare she ran her fingers across the stump. He swallowed.

"What really happened? You didn't tell me when I asked." Arya said.

So this time he told her.

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When Arya reached for him in her sleep that night Jaime wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand he was perfectly willing to comfort her and on the other hand if she woke up to find that he wasn't Gendry she wasn't going to be the least bit comforted. Still, the way she was cuddled up next to him clinging to his shirt, he couldn't push her away.

She awoke with a start in his arms that night. She pulled away swiftly and he let her go. She sat up and reached for the spear at the bedside.

"Arya don't…" He said gently. "Just stay here."

"And do what?" Her voice sounded panicked and angry.

"Tell me about him?" He suggested.

"Why?" She said with disbelief.

"It couldn't hurt and maybe it will help."

"He was a blacksmith." She began. "He was very good at his work. I talked to your steward about sending for some of the things he made... you'll see that they were good…"

"What else?' Jaime asked her. Talking had to be healthier than hurting herself, didn't it?

"When I met him I was just a kid and disguised as a common boy. He knew I wasn't who I said I was and when I finally did tell him I was Arya Stark he teased me about being a lady...even after I found him again he still kept calling me m'lady…" Arya said.

Jaime saw her brush away a few tears.

"Now every time the servants call me that I want chop their heads off for saying it and not being him." Arya admitted.

"I guess we had better keep the axes away from you then." Jaime said.

Arya laughed, actually laughed at that. Then she lay back down in the bed and curled up next to him. She wasn't touching him, but there was barely an inch of space between them. "Good night Jaime." She said.

"Good night, Arya."

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Arya woke in the morning still curled up next to Jaime. He was still asleep. She didn't know what to make of him at all. She had thought she would have to manipulate him into helping her and now she was beginning to think that maybe he really would do it willingly. Maybe he had intended to all along. He wasn't what her father had thought he was, she knew that now. And though it was rather disgusting how he had been with his sister, Cersei was gone now and there was no sense in being bothered by it anymore. He had been right last night. It had helped a little to talk about Gendry. It had helped more than walking on her hurt leg ever did.

Jaime awoke and found Arya staring at him. "Aren't you bored just laying there staring at me?"

"No." She said without thinking then felt herself blush. She hadn't been bored. She had liked looking at him.

"Oh so you were enjoying the view?" He teased.

"I was not." Arya said, embarrassed at herself for not being able to come up with anything more witty than that.

"Why not just admit it? For instance the other morning when I walked in on you the other morning in the tub I liked what I saw. I'm perfectly willing to admit it if I see something I like. Why can't you?" He asked her with a grin.

"Fine. I was enjoying the view but not anymore. I think you should go." Arya said, angry with him for making her uncomfortable.

Jaime got up and left the bed, laughing to himself as he went.

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Jaime was careful to wait for Arya's reply when he knocked on her chamber door to bring her to breakfast that morning. He didn't want a repeat of the incident when he had walked in on her getting out of the tub.

"Come in." She called out.

Meg and Genna were emptying out the tub and Arya was sitting in a chair already dressed and combing her wet hair.

"Do you want to to go the great hall for breakfast or have it brought up here?" He asked her.

"I'll go down to the hall." She said.

He picked her up to carry her down to the hall and she did something she had never done before. She put her arm around him rather than leave it to be pinned between them. It could very well mean nothing he knew. She might just be more comfortable this way. Except that the way she rested her head against his neck and shoulder told him otherwise. He had no complaints. He liked having her close, her breath against his neck…

Some of the members of the household were happy to see her. She was making an impression on them already. Most of them had only spoken to her in passing when they had cause to deliver something to her room or at the meal the evening before but even that was enough to see that she was well liked by the household.

After the meal had ended and he picked her up to bring her back to her room there was no doubt about it. She was cuddling with him. Just before he set her down on her bed he felt her lips ghost across his neck. He stopped and instead of letting her go he turned and sat on the bed with her still in his lap. She didn't pull away or ask what he was doing. Instead she kissed his neck again. Impulsively, he turned and kissed her lips. She kissed him in return, pulling herself closer to him as she did. Then with a gasp she pulled away. She had tears on her face.

"Let me go." She whispered. "I'm sorry… please just let me go."

He nodded and moved to set her on the bed.

"I'll go. I'll send Meg and Genna to keep you company today." He said. He wasn't sure he could remain close to her all day and not be distracted by what had just happened. She probably felt too guilty to face him anyway. He headed back to his solar to finish answering his correspondence, then changed his mind and went for the practice yard instead.

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What in seven hells had just happened? Arya couldn't understand how that had happened. She had known she liked being near him. She had known it since the morning after the wedding and she had never allowed herself to do anything about that before. Why had she suddenly been comfortable enough to act like that? It was partly because she was lonely she supposed but that didn't make it right. It made her angry that it had felt so nice to be close to him for a little while. It made her angry that for half a minute she had forgotten that she was a widow.

Arya reached for her spear and got up and crossed the room. She yanked open the door to her wardrobe. Her old clothes were in there along with new things that had made for her since she arrived. She didn't see what she was looking for. She started pulling out clothes and throwing them on the floor. Still she couldn't find it.

"What are you doing m'lady?" Genna said from the doorway.

Arya almost screamed at her. The room was a wreck by then, clothes all over the floor.

"Why isn't there anything black? I need to wear something black and there's nothing here!" She shouted.

"I'm sorry. I'll have something brought up to you right away m'lady." Genna said, trying to make an escape.

"Genna!" Arya yelled after her. Genna poked her head back into the door, eyes worried. "Don't call me m'lady!"

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Dear Tyrion,

The wife you have sent to me is impossible. I can't make sense of her. One minute she is yelling at the servants, the next she is crying uncontrollably, the next she is kissing me then pushing me away. Half the time she refuses to rest and allow her injuries to heal and the other half of the time she seems glad for me to carry her to keep her from walking. I can not think clearly when she is nearby and I can't get anything done when she isn't. Couldn't you have sent her to marry someone else? Anyone else? I suppose it is too late for that now and I must accept my lot in life. Give my regards to the queen.

-Jaime

Dear Sansa,

I only just recently heard that you are in the Vale and married. Everyone tells me that you seem happy there. I hope that's the truth of it. I am on my second marriage now. I was in Braavos for years and had no idea you were alive. I came back to Westeros and was married for a short time, but he died. The queen arranged for me to be married to Jaime Lannister. He's not as bad as I thought he would be. I wish you were here so I could talk to you. There are so many things I want to say. There are so many things I want to ask. You've been married a couple of years by now. Maybe you could help me make sense of this messed up marriage I'm stuck in. Maybe it isn't the marriage that is messed up, I think it's me. I'm just not ready for this. I'm sure you know more about being a wife and the lady of a castle than I ever did. I'm just hopeless when it comes to this stupid stuff. Please write back and tell me all about the things I've missed.

Love Arya

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Jaime managed to avoid Arya all day that day. He finally went to see her for the evening meal. Genna and Meg left the room when he arrived. Arya already had a tray of food on her lap. He'd already eaten in the great hall. She picked at her food, barely looking up at him. He noticed that she was wearing black. He approached her and sat on the end of the bed.

"Arya, about earlier…" He began.

"We don't have to talk about it." She said.

"I think we do." He said. "I shouldn't have kissed you. It was too soon and you're not clear headed enough to know what you really want."

"It's not that…" Arya said. "I know what I want…" She said but she looked thoroughly ashamed of herself.

"But you feel disloyal and guilty for wanting it." Jaime finished for her.

Arya nodded.

"I'm going to give you more space to mourn than I have been." Jaime said. "I'll sleep in my chambers tonight. Tomorrow we can go riding again. Maybe that will be a better distraction for you."

"Oh." Was all Arya said. She looked as if she were about to protest his plan.

He didn't give her the chance. "Good night Arya."

She didn't say goodnight to him. She just watched him leave, seemingly in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

For three nights Arya slept alone in her chambers. Though there really wasn't a lot of sleep involved. She tossed and turned, painfully paced the room, had nightmares about dragons and flames, and woke up alone and crying more times than she would ever been willing to admit. By day she didn't feel like talking or eating. She went riding with Jaime sometimes. Sometimes they played cyvasse. Sometimes Meg and Genna visited her. But she felt exhausted and hopeless and didn't really care about any of it. The only time she felt any semblance of peace was when Jaime carried her to meals or to her horse for riding. As soon as he let her go she remembered everything all over again. She remembered that didn't have any right to feel anything for him. She remembered that he was trying to keep his distance and that being close to him was only temporary.

On the fourth night alone, Arya dreamed about the execution again. The terror as she watched the man she loved burn...then the rage as she finally broke through the guards and charged at the dragon. She had felt his hot breath against her face. He almost killed her and she hadn't cared. And in her dreams she she saw Gendry's burned body as they dragged her away. Pain stabbed through her knee and shoulder as she fought them, trying to get back to what was left of him in spite of knowing he was dead.

Arya awoke with a start. The room was illuminated by moonlight. She was alone again. Utterly alone. Sometimes when she'd woken up like this she had been able to choke back the tears. Other times she had stopped the tears by walking with her full weight on her leg, no spear to help her. This time she just curled up sobbing where she lay. She couldn't make the tears stop. She couldn't stop the hurt. Only one thing could help, Jaime. She got out of bed and took her spear. She made her way out of her room and went to the door of his bedchamber. She tried to be silent opening his door but he woke up anyway.

"Arya?" He said, sitting up on his elbow as she approached the bed.

She didn't ask him if she could sleep in his bed. She was too afraid he would say no, that it was too soon. She let her spear fall to the floor with a clatter and she climbed in next to him without a word. Once she was under the covers she slid closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. He seemed to understand and he hugged her in return. Then the tears came and she let them fall.

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For days Arya had been uncommunicative and listless. He knew she had barely been eating and probably barely sleeping as well. He had tried to encourage her to eat. He had tried to say something witty from time to time to make her laugh but the most he had been able to get for a response was a small smile on occasion. He had even taken her to the practice yard so she could watch if she wanted. He didn't know what else to do for her. Being unable to help her was killing him.

It had surprised him when she arrived at his room. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red from lack of sleep. When she had climbed into his bed and clung to him as if her life depended on it he found he had actually felt relieved. It meant she was doing something about her grief rather than keeping it all bottled up inside.

He awoke in the morning laying flat on his back. Arya was cuddled up next to him with her head resting on his chest. She must have felt his change in breathing when he woke up because she looked up at him then.

"I can't sleep alone after this." She said firmly. "I can't."

"Okay. Then I won't ask you to." He told her.

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Dear Arya,

By the time you receive this letter I will already be on my way to Casterly Rock. As soon as I got your letter I begged Harry to bring me to visit you. He never refuses me anything. It will be a month before we arrive. I will be longing to see you every day until then.

Love Sansa

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In the following days Jaime noticed improvements in Arya's mood. He wasn't sure if it was because of her sister's upcoming visit or because she was no longer alone at night. It didn't matter which. It was good to see her smile from time to time. Her injuries were healing too. She was able to walk with a lot less pain but she was unable to fully bend her knee. As a result she still carried the spear most of the time for support. He might have insisted on a cane or a crutch had the spear not suited her so well.

He found that he liked sleeping next to her at night. It wasn't sleeping next to her so much as sleeping tangled up with her. His sleep was often broken up by her constant moving and by her nightmares but she was so grateful for his presence that he really couldn't complain. She never tried to kiss him again since that one time and he never tried to kiss her but there were other small affections they showed each other. Just small touches really, her hand in his hair, his thumb brushing away her tears, or the way they sometimes didn't get out of the bed when the woke up in the morning but stayed there embraced for a while longer. He had never really shared physical closeness like this with anyone. Cersei had never stayed in his bed for long out of fear of being caught and he hadn't been able to touch her in public. Arya was always touching him. A hand on his arm at dinner, hugging him tightly when he carried her down to her horse, sometimes her hand on his neck or resting on his chest as they fell asleep at night. After so many years of keeping distant from everyone, he found he liked it.

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Dear Jaime,

I can imagine that your new wife will be difficult in the beginning. Even without the history between Starks and Lannisters there is the added difficulty of her having just been widowed. However, I believe that given time the two of you will get along well. I have seen her fight, and not just the incident in the pit with Drogon. I saw her two years ago in Braavos. Her Grace sent me there on an errand to the Iron Bank. It was that incident that convinced me she would be right for you and you would be right for her. You should ask her about it if you have the chance.

-Tyrion

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Sansa and Harry arrived at Casterly Rock along with a party of Knights of the Vale. Jaime brought Arya down to the courtyard to greet them and Sansa didn't seem the least bit surprised to see her sister wearing an ugly black wool dress and using a spear for support as she walked over to greet her sister. Sansa closed most of the distance for her rather than make Arya walk. They hugged tightly and wept for a long while. Then once the Knights had been seen to the Hall for a meal, Jaime offered to bring Arya back to her room where she and Sansa could speak alone. Once Arya was back in her room, Jaime took Harry down to the Hall and had a meal sent up for the sisters.

"I can't believe you're really here." Arya said. "You have to tell me everything."

They spent the next few hours catching up on everything that had happened since they had last seen each other. Hearing what Joffrey had done to Sansa made Arya hate him all over again. And she had never liked Littlefinger so hearing how he had tried to use her as a pawn in his game was not an easy thing to hear either. The only good news was that her husband was good to her, that he loved her and she loved him.

Arya told Sansa about her time in Westeros after her father died, and of her training in Braavos. And then she told her about Gendry. It wasn't easy to do without getting emotional but she told her anyway. She told her everything. Sansa climbed onto the bed with Arya and wrapped her arms around her little sister.

"I know you loved him Arya...and I would never discount that for a moment…" Sansa began after they had been silent for a long while. "But you need to stop punishing yourself."

"What do you mean?" Arya asked.

"I can see that you care Jaime…" Sansa began.

"I don't!" Arya tried to deny it.

"Arya...I have eyes. I saw the way you looked at him. I saw the way you held on to him when he carried you up to this room. Don't try to deny it. There's nothing wrong with caring for him."

"There's everything wrong with it!" Arya argued.

"Are you saying that because it's too soon or because of Bran?" Sansa asked candidly.

Arya was confused. "What does Bran have to do with it?"

Sansa clapped hand over her mouth. "Oh gods… you didn't know?"

"Didn't know what?" Arya asked, concerned over her sister's reaction.

"Just forget it." Sansa said anxiously.

"Why? What are you keeping from me, Sansa?"

Sansa sighed. "Give me a few days. Then I'll tell you. I just need a little time."

Arya didn't know what Sansa could possibly be talking about. She have her a quizzical expression. "Fine. How long are you staying for anyway?"

"For as long as I can."


	6. Chapter 6

Jaime was getting a little tired of entertaining Harrold Hardyng. It wasn't that Harrold was a bad guy. He wasn't obnoxious or cowardly. He was in fact fairly decent with a sword and witty as well. Both good reasons to like the man he supposed. But time spent with Harrold meant less time spent with Arya. He knew Arya wanted a chance to see her sister but after nearly three days of only being able to see her at the end of the day when they were both too tired to stay awake, he found that he missed her. It was the evening and Harry and Sansa had just retired to their room. Arya was getting ready for bed in her own room with the help of her maids and Jaime had just reached his own room. It was his first moment alone in nearly three days. A knock sounded at the door.

"What!" He shouted rather irritated at whoever was there.

The door opened slowly and it was Sansa who peeked inside. "Ser Jaime?"

"Sansa?" He was a little confused as to what she was doing there visiting in his room.

She let herself in almost shyly and shut the door behind her. "I came because I need to speak to you about Arya."

"Oh. What about her?" Had Arya revealed something in her conversations with her sister to indicate that hated him or something?

"She doesn't know… she doesn't know about about Bran, does she?" Sansa said.

Jaime felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He thought about denying it, about claiming ignorance but couldn't bring himself to do either one. "No. How do you know about it?"

"Petyr Baelish told me. I've known for years. I've had time to let go of the past. I can't say that I forgive you but for my sister's sake I will be civil and not speak of it again after this. However, you need to tell her, and soon." Sansa said.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Not yet." Jaime said.

"I know. Arya clearly cares for you and it will hurt her to know the truth. But she knows I'm keeping something from her. She's been after me for days to tell her what it is. I can't keep putting her off. If the truth comes from me then it will destroy what little happiness she has found here. She'll believe you never planned to tell her and maybe you didn't. I want my sister to be happy. Tell her yourself if you care for her at all." Sansa said.

"I do care for her. I'll tell her eventually but I think she needs more time to heal before having something like that thrown at her." Jaime said.

"I'm a terrible liar Ser. I always have been. Arya will get the truth out of me soon enough. Just tell her so it doesn't have to come from me."

He sighed. "Alright, I will."

Sansa only nodded and left his room, almost fleeing as she did.

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Arya wasn't in the best of moods. Sansa had been acting strange all day. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what Bran had to do with her feelings for Jaime and Sansa refused to tell her what the fuck she had been talking about or why she had ever mentioned it. Every time Arya tried to mention it, Sansa would evade the question entirely. And she knew there was a reason Sansa wouldn't answer the question, an important reason. After all this time away from each other, why would her sister be keeping secrets from her?

Jaime entered the room looking pale and disturbed. Something was wrong. She watched as he poured himself a glass of wine and gulped it down. Then he crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her.

"We need to talk." He said.

No. Whatever this was, it wasn't going to be good news. She knew that. She could feel it.

"Is it going to be something terrible?" She dared ask him.

"It isn't good." He admitted. "It's about something that happened long ago when I visited Winterfell…Something I did..." Jaime said but then he stopped not wanting or unable to go on.

Winterfell. . Suddenly it all fit together in Arya's mind, what Sansa had been keeping from her and apparently what he was trying to tell her.

"No! Don't say it!" She said anxiously. She had been starting to like him. If he said it then everything would be ruined.

"Arya…"

"Why?" She finally managed to ask. "It was you who pushed Bran...why did you do it?"

"He caught us, Cersei and I. If he had told anyone Robert would have…"

"Just go." Arya said in almost a whisper.

"What?" Jaime asked.

"I want to sleep alone tonight. Get out." She told him.

"I'm sorry Arya." He said as he got up to leave. "I'm sorry."

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Jaime couldn't sleep alone. He had spent almost all of his life sleeping alone and after just a month of sharing a bed he couldn't manage the loneliness. It was really rather pathetic he knew. He decided that perhaps more wine would make him sleepy. After a while, between the exhaustion and the wine sleep finally found him only for him to wake several hours later and be unable to fall back asleep again. He got out of bed with a plan to go find some food in the kitchen. As he passed Arya's door he heard her, crying. She probably didn't want to see him. He went in anyway.

"Go away." She said brokenly when she saw him coming.

"I can't." He told her and went and sat on her bed. "I won't. Not when you're like this."

She said nothing to that, just turned away from him and curled up trying to keep her weeping silent. She hadn't cried like this in several weeks. This was his fault. He reached over and put his hand on her arm, hoping she would accept it there. She took his hand with her own and squeezed it tightly.

"I hate you…" Arya whispered but she clung to his hand all the same. He doubted thatshe really meant it but the words did still sting.

Jaime sat with her until she fell asleep then he pulled free of her hand and went down to the kitchens.

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It was just after breakfast when a chest of things arrived for Arya. Two servants carried the chest into the great hall before they had quite finished the meal.

"I know that box." Arya said, her face pale. She pulled herself to her feet and made her way to the end of the table to open the chest. Jaime, Sansa, and Harrold followed her. "This was Gendry's." Arya said.

Arya opened the box and began to take out each item, one by one. She looked each one over carefully as if it were a newborn child and she was checking to see that the child was whole with all their fingers and toes. There were four swords, each very distinct from one another. There was a dagger, a spearhead, a bunch of horseshoes, and a bull helmet.

"You stupid bull." Arya said as she took out the helmet. "You stupid, stupid, bull…" But instead of bursting into tears like they all expected her to do, she smiled.

Arya insisted on walking back up to her room after breakfast. Sansa went with her. Jaime and Harrold and the knights went elsewhere. She didn't ask where.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arya asked Sansa as soon as they were alone. She wasn't angry, she just wanted to know why. "About Bran."

"It wasn't my place to tell you." Sansa said sadly. "He's your husband."

"And I'm your sister!"

"Yes, and I want my sister to be happy. Telling you your husband's secrets wouldn't have helped in that endeavor. Would it?" Sansa said.

"I suppose not. What makes you think I could be happy with him after this anyway? He tried to kill our brother!" Arya said with disbelief.

"Yes he did. And he failed. It seems to me like you've been well cared for here at Casterly Rock. Perhaps he is trying to atone for what he has done." Sansa said.

"I doubt that. Why are you defending him?" Arya wanted to know.

Sansa sighed. "I'm not. Not really. But it happened years ago. Why be miserable over something that's impssible to change? He has been kind to you. He might make a good husband if you can learn to forgive him."

Arya just gave Sansa a look like her sister must be crazy. "You really think I could forgive something like that?"

"Do you hate the Hound?" Sansa asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"When you told me about him, about the time you spent with him in the Riverlands, it sounded almost as if the two of you had become friends. If you can forgive him for Mycah then…"

"I never forgave him for Mycah! I just learned to forget about it that's all."

"It's the same thing." Sansa told her.

"No it isn't." Arya argued. "The Hound was following the King's orders. I couldn't entirely blame him for that."

"And Jaime was protecting his family from King Robert. How is that any worse?"

Arya only huffed in acknowledgement.

"Just think about it Arya, please." Sansa said. By that time they had reached Arya's room.

"I told him I hated him." Arya said sadly as she went to sit in one of the chairs in the corner of her room.

"I told Harry I hated him once too." Sansa admitted, taking her own chair. "It's not the end of the world."

"I didn't think it was." Arya said defensively.

Sansa shook her head and rolled her eyes at her sister. Then noticing the plate on the table said, "Oh look, someone sent up lemon cakes!"


	7. Chapter 7

When Jaime went up to his chambers for bed that night he thought he would just leave Arya to herself and not even say good night. It was probably what she wanted. She had barely spoken to him at any of the meals. He passed her open door and caught a glimpse of her with two of Gendry's swords, one in each hand. She sat on the bed just staring at them. He stopped and leaned against the doorframe to speak with her.

"We could get you a display case if you like." He said.

She glanced up at him and he could tell she was trying to decide whether to speak to him or not. "That might be nice." She finally said.

He crossed the room and stood near her. "May I see it?" She passed him one of the blades. "You weren't exaggerating. This is fine work."

"Of course it is." She said but he could see that she hid a small smile. His prasie of Gendry's work had meant something to her. If Arya ever managed a kind word about Cersei it would likely mean a great deal to him too. He didn't expect that would ever happen but it was nice to be able to say something helpful to her for once.

Jaime placed the blade back in the chest on the floor next to her bed. Then he sat down next to her on the bed. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to apologize again, to tell her that he missed her. He knew it wouldn't help if he did say those things.

"Sansa thinks I should try to forgive you." Arya said after a while.

"She does? Are you going to take your sister's advice?" Jaime asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know…" Arya said confusedly.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. But I am sorry for it all the same." He told her.

She looked over at him, meeting his eyes as if trying to gauge his sincerity. "I think you really are sorry." She said with a bit of amazement. Then she became confused.

"I seem to remember you telling me you couldn't sleep alone anymore. Does that still hold true? Because I'm going to go mad if I have to spend another night alone." He told her just as sincerly.

"You can stay." She said, tears in her eyes from his words.

She didn't hug him that night. She simply curled up next to him and placed one hand on his arm. It was enough.

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"Don't you think you should start making baby clothes?" Sansa asked Arya the following afternoon. They were sitting outside in the garden and Sansa was sewing something again.

Arya looked down at her stomach. She was just begning to show signs of pregnancy. "I don't think I'd even know how." Arya said.

"I know Septa Mordane must have managed to teach you something, didn't she?" Sansa said.

"I don't need to make baby clothes." Arya said, offended. "As the Lady of Casterly Rock I can have someone else make them for me anyhow."

"Really Arya? I've never known you to depend on servants to do anything that you can do for yourself." Sansa pointed out.

Arya was at a loss. She wasn't sure she even could make anything but Sansa was right. Why shouldn't she at least make something for her own child? "If I try, will you promise not to laugh?"

Sansa suddenly looked ashamed of herself. "Oh Arya, I had forgotten all about that. I'm sorry Jeyne and I laughed at your stitches. I was a terrible sister then. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course." Arya said, reaching forward into the bag of fabric that Sansa had brought. She wasn't even sure where to begin.


	8. Chapter 8

It was Harry's idea to go find the wives and invite them horseback riding. Jaime knew that Harry must miss Sansa though Harry hadn't actually said so. They found them in the garden and to Jaime's great surprise Arya was actually sewing. The sisters saw them coming and Sansa looked up, smiling at Harry. Arya only looked curious.

"Harry has an idea." Jaime said to them.

"I was thinking we should go riding. It would at least be something different." Harry said cheerfully.

Sansa glared at her husband.

"I know you hate riding, dear." Harry said to her. "Which is why I was thinking we could share a horse."

Sansa blushed at that suggestion but then nodded in agreement with a small smile.

"Not a bad idea Hardyng. What do say to sharing a horse Arya?" Jaime quipped.

It was Arya's turn to glare at her husband. "I'm not the one who hates riding."

"I know. Riding is so easy for you that you get bored with it." Jaime said. "My way would at least be more interesting."

Arya looked like she was about to refuse but she looked over and saw the way that Sansa was looking at her, as if pleading for her to say yes. "Fine." Arya said with a huff.

Harry didn't want to bring any guards with them on their ride. He insisted that he could guard his own wife just fine on his own. Jaime had no problem with that. In fact, he agreed with the sentiment. So they set out, just the four of them on two horses. It wasn't long before Harry slowed down their horse so that he and Sansa were several lengths behind Jaime and Arya. Arya glanced back at them and then made a disgusted face. Jaime didn't really have to look back to guess what had disgusted her but did so anyway, discreetly. Harry had his arms wrapped around Sansa and was kissing her neck. A mile further down the road and Harry called out to them.

"We're taking this path here!" Harry indicated a side road that he had stopped at. "We'll meet you back at the Castle later."

"Ew." Arya said once they had gone. "Do they think we don't know what they're up to?"

"I don't think they care." Jaime said.

"So now what do we do?" Arya asked.

"The beach is just ahead." Jaime said and saw her redden from her neck into her cheeks.

Jaime helped Arya dismount when they reached the beach. It was difficult for her to do on her own without being able to bend one knee.

"Do you think my knee will ever bend again?" She asked as he set her to the ground.

"I don't know. Maester Gavin said it might not." Jaime told her.

She looked down at the ground sadness filling her eyes. "I can't fight if it doesn't. Water dancing needs flexibility. I need to bend my knee to fight...how will I…?" Arya choked on the words.

"You'll have to learn new ways." Jaime told her gently. "I had to."

"I'll never be as good again." She said, her loss hitting her for the first time.

"At least you're still whole." He said, indicating his golden hand. She said nothing to that so he went on. "Come on, it's warm. might as well get our feet wet."

They removed their boots and stockings and headed towards the water. Arya let them hem of her dress hang into the water as she walked.

"If you let your dress get wet then I'll end up wet during the ride back." Jaime said.

"It's only water." Arya said. "I didn't know knights were afraid of water."

"I'm not afraid of water. I'm just a little surprised at your modesty. I've already seen everything there is to see. The sight of your ankles isn't going to shock me." He told her with a grin.

"No but this will." Arya said and shoved him into the water. He stumbled then fell beneath the waves for only an instant before he was back on his feet again. Arya was laughing but not for long as Jaime grabbed her around the waist and picked her up, dragging her out deeper into the water. She was screaming at him and laughing and demanding to be put down. When Jaime finally did let her go it was to toss her into four feet of water. She was entirely submerged for a moment before finding her feet and standing up. This time it was Jaime who was laughing. A large wave came up behind Arya, the force of it pushed her forward towards Jaime. She allowed him to take her arm and help her back towards shore.

Once they were on dry ground again Arya struggled to walk in her waterlogged black wool dress. "Gods…" She mumbled trying to wring the water from the skirt. "I can't even move anymore."

'Then take it off." Jaime said. "We could hang it to dry in those trees over there."

Arya glared at him. Then something softened in her eyes and she reached for the laces of her dress and began to untie them. She pulled the dress off and was left wearing a thin white shift which was wet enough that it clung to her body and left nothing to the imagination.

"If I'm hanging my dress to dry then you have to do the same with your shirt." She said, making her way towards the tree.

"Deal." He said, amused that Arya was making excuses to see him shirtless. He hung his tunic on a branch near Arya's dress. Then he sat on the ground, his back to the trunk of the tree. Arya was facing away from him gazing at the sea. "Are you going to sit down?"

She moved to sit. He expected she would sit next to him with her back to the tree as well. Instead she stepped in front of him, his legs were sprawled wide enough on the ground that she was able to put her foot there. Once he understood what she was doing he made space for her to sit in front of him, her back against his chest, much like they had been on horseback but somehow more intimate here. He put his arms around her middle and felt her sigh as he did.

"I don't hate you, Jaime." She said.

He didn't know what to say so he bent forward and kissed her lightly on the neck in response. Then he straightened up, not trusting himself to refrain from taking it further if he stayed near her.

"Do that again." Arya said almost breathlessly.

"What?" Jaime couldn't believe what he had just heard. She didn't reply to him. The next thing he knew she was turning to face him, straddling his lap, and her lips were on his. He lost all hesitation then. Her hands were on his chest and his hand was under shift feeling her skin and his tongue was in her mouth. He wasn't really aware of the screams in the distance until Arya was pulling away from him, wide eyed and worried.

"That's Sansa!" Arya said, getting to her feet and grabbing her dress. "Come on we have to help her!"

Jaime grabbed his tunic and headed with Arya to where they had hobbled the horse. They set off in the direction of the screams.


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't difficult to find Harry and Sansa. They had only gone a short distance down the path where they had left Jaime and Arya. Sansa was knelt on the ground tying a torn cloth on Harry's bleeding leg.

"What happened?" Jaime asked as he dismounted the horse and went to her. Arya struggled to put her wet dress back on while still sitting on the horse.

"Robbers." Sansa said.

"Yes but they didn't get off with much." Harry said, trying to sit up only to have Sansa push him back down again.

"Looks like they got a good swing at your leg." Jaime said.

"Oh that, it's nothing." Harry said trying to keep the pain from his voice.

Jaime knelt down and took a closer look. "I wouldn't say it's nothing but I think you'll live...which way did your robbers go?"

"I don't know." Sansa said. "Harry was bleeding and I was upset and I didn't even see."

"Upset?" Harry said to her. "You were screaming bloody murder. You were more than upset."

"Of course I was you had be gallant and try to fight them instead of just giving them what they wanted!" Sansa said to Harry.

"I wasn't being gallant." Harry protested. "And if I had been, all that screaming would still been excessive."

"Which way did they go?" Jaime repeated the question, ignoring Sansa and Harry's argument.

"I didn't see either." Harry said. "Because as she said, I was bleeding and she was upset."

"It's no matter. We'll have to get you on the horse and get you back." Jaime said. He looked over to see if Arya had managed to dress yet before helping Harry to his feet.

Sansa and Harry continued to argue on the return ride to Casterly Rock. They rode into the courtyard and there were soon servants to help Harry to his room and the Maester was dispatched to tend him. Then someone brought Arya her spear and she made her way back to her room where Meg and Genna would help her into dry clothes.

She stayed in her chambers even after the maids had left. She thought about going to check on Sansa and Harry. Jaime was probably with them. She didn't want to see him yet. Not when all she could think about was kissing him again. Arya wasn't even sure why she had kissed him like that. She wasn't sure she could keep from doing it again the next time she saw him. And she wanted more than just a kiss.

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It took more than an hour before Maester Gavin was done with Harry. Once Jaime was sure that Harry would be fine, he left his guests and went to find Arya. She was in her chambers sitting on the edge of her bed. She blushed when he entered the room and he knew that she was thinking about the kiss on the beach just as much as he was. He was thinking about that and the curves of her body, the feeling of her skin beneath his hand.

He bolted the door shut behind him. He turned to face her and found that she was wearing a robe. It was midafternoon and if he wasn't mistaken she had nothing on underneath her robe. She stood and let the robe slip off of her shoulders. He didn't remember crossing the room. He was just there, arms around her, kissing her hungrily. She was desperately pulling at the hem of his tunic and he broke away from her long enough to pull it off over his head. Then they were together again, lips locked. He liked the feel of her breasts against his chest. He could feel her pulling at the laces of his breeches. He pushed her gently back so that she was lying on the bed beneath him. He rested his weight on his elbows and forearms and began to trail his kisses down her jawline, onto her neck and shoulder, and then to suck on her firm nipples. She cried out from the sensation and arched her back. Then she finally managed to get his member free of his breeches and she took him in hand and began to stroke. She wasn't as inexperienced as he might have expected. He let out a low moan before moving on to suck her other nipple. His hand snaked between them so that he could touch her too and her eyes flew open in surprised pleasure. If he had to guess, it would seem that no one had ever touched her there before. She closed her eyes again and stopped stroking him, she was limp and whimpering, and utterly distracted by what he was doing to her. By the time he pushed himself inside her, she was panting and nearing her climax. It didn't take him long to follow her into bliss.

Afterwards, he rolled off of her onto his side and held her close much like the way they had been sleeping at night.

"I just realized." Arya said with a giggle. "I forgot to ask about Harry. Is he okay?"

"Harry is fine. It was just a flesh wound. You on the other hand are not fine. It seems I have besmirched your honor." He said with a grin as he moved some of her hair out of her eyes.

"It's not besmirching if the woman is your wife." She protested.

"I take it you are willing to accept that title now?" He said more seriously.

Her eyes clouded and he knew she was remembering that she had been someone else's wife first. He waited for the moment to pass. "I think I am." She finally said.

It wasn't a declaration of love but it was a good start.


	10. Chapter 10

Arya sat sewing in her chambers with Sansa because the rain outside was coming down far too hard for them to even think about sitting in the garden.

"Looks like you're nearly finished." Sansa commented as Arya came to the end of her seam. "What are you making?"

"It just a sleeping gown." Arya said. She knew Sansa wanted to see what she had made but Arya didn't want to show her just yet.

"Interesting choice of colors." Sansa said.

The sleeping gown was of a gray fabric and the thread Arya had chosen was golden yellow.. In effect it meant that all the hems and seams were embellished with yellow. It was not a flattering combination of colors.

"It was all I could do...for Gendry." Arya said. The Baratheon House colors were black and yellow but Gendry had never been legitimized. Even so, his execution had proved his legitimacy. Arya couldn't openly dress her child in Baratheon colors without drawing suspicion but there was enough similarity with Baratheon yellow and Lannister gold that she felt safe enough to add the color to Stark gray.

"Of course." Sansa nodded, understanding. "May I see it?"

Arya reluctantly handed over the garment. Sansa held it up. It really didn't look so bad. The sleeves were both the same length. The stitches were mostly straight along the hem even if a few of the underneath ones weren't so good. Arya was tempted to think that she hadn't done so badly as she'd expected. Still, she waited for Sansa's approval.

"This is the first thing you've made since we were children?" Sansa asked.

Arya nodded, waiting.

"This is well done." Sansa said. "I think maybe it's easier for you to sew when you are doing it for someone you love than when it is simply a chore that has been chosen for you. I always liked sewing, but I think maybe you needed to have a reason to do it. Now you have one."

"Maybe." Arya said, breathing a sigh of relief that Sansa had approved of her sewing. She didn't know why it should matter so much. "How many of these do you think I should make? How much does one baby need?"

"A lot. Babies make such a mess and they grow ever so fast." Sansa said with a smile then her look saddened.

Arya suddenly understood why her sister was sad. "How long have you and Harry been married now?"

"Long enough that there should have been children already." Sansa said sadly.

"I'm sure it's not too late...you're both young and…" Arya began but Sansa was shaking her head.

"I spoke to the Maester. He said there is something wrong with my womb, that it is at the wrong angle and that it may take a long time before I am able to have a child." Sansa explained.

"Then it's not impossible. There's still time." Arya said hopefully.

"I know." Sansa said, wiping away a stray tear. "I just have to be patient."

"Sorry to disturb you m'lady." Genna said from the doorway. "His lordship bid me tell you that his brother has arrived for a visit and will be joining you for dinner in the solar."

Arya was a little surprised by this news. "Thank you Genna." The maidservant left them alone again.

"Oh gods…" Sansa said. "I haven't seen Tyrion since I was married to him."

"I haven't seen him since he was trying to convince our queen not to kill me." Arya said.

"I think he has done a lot of that, a lot of convincing kings and queens to do what is right." Sansa said. "If you don't mind, I think I'll take dinner with Harry. He's not really feeling up to leaving his chambers just yet, and I'm not feeling up to the awkwardness of a Lannister family dinner."

"If only I could find an excuse to escape it too." Arya laughed.

When it came time for dinner, Arya joined the Lannister brothers in the solar.

"You are looking much better than when I last saw you my lady." Tyrion said to her.

Arya wasn't sure what to say to that. She never knew what to say to him. When she had last seen him she had been a wreck. Her husband had just died, she had been injured, and the queen had wanted her executed on the spot. Arya couldn't remember what Tyrion had said to stop the queen. She had been in too much pain both physically and emotionally for much of it to reach her, but she knew that it had been his words that had saved her life.

"I can't say that I remember actually seeing you at all when you last saw me. I was somewhat distracted." Arya said. "Whatever you said to the queen, I thank you for it. I know I would be dead had you not interfered."

"You are most welcome." Tyrion said. "It was the only way I could thank you for saving my life in Essos."

"I haven't heard this story." Jaime said as they all sat down at the table. "It sounds like it might be an interesting tale."

"Well, it happened that I was sent by Dany to the Iron Bank in Braavos to obtain money for her journey west." Tyrion explained. "I'm good at talking. It wasn't hard to convince them that the Targaryen with the dragons was the rightful queen and the most likely monarch to be able to make a return on their investment. The problem being that I had just been loaned a massive sum of money and some of the local people thought this would be a good time to rob me."

"I was in a tavern across the square from the bank when he arrived." Arya said, "I heard some men talking about a dwarf who had gone into the bank. They decided that since he was a small man, he would be easy to rob. They planned to wait for him to come out and take everything then. I followed them out of the tavern and when they attacked him…"

"Have you seen her fight, Jaime?" Tyrion asked, "It was like a dance. I've seen lots of knights fight. I've been in battles. I've never seen anything like the water dance. She took down those two men rather quickly. They ran away screaming. It was really quite hilarious watching them go. More hilarious was the look on her face when she realized who I was. For a moment there, I thought she might use that sword of hers on me. She didn't. She asked me what I was doing there. She asked me if I had any news from Westeros about Sansa. Then I asked her why she had helped me."

"I told him the truth." Arya said. "I told him that I hated it when bigger people hurt smaller people just because they could. I told him it didn't matter who he was, those men from the tavern were the reason the world is such a messed up place and I wasn't going to stand by and do nothing about it."

"I share your sentiments my lady," Tyrion went on. "I hate it when bigger people hurt smaller ones just because they can. I am hoping to prevent that very scenario in the coming months. That's why I am here."

"What exactly does that mean?" Jaime asked.

"It means that if I am suspicious about the timing of Arya's pregnancy, the queen might soon share my suspicions as well." Tyrion said, "We haven't spoken of it at all. I just need to have a story and a plan ready for her when she does eventually bring it up. So tell me Jaime, is the child yours?"


End file.
